Rise To Stardom - Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Shatter!
“Lance! You’re slowing the line, get out.”

“Also, whatever modifications you’re making to that dish, boss woman ain’t gon’ like it.”

“It’s called thinking outside the box, Junior… not that I’d expect you to understand.”

–

Immediately that scene played, the atmosphere in the cinema visibly shifted from engaged to excited as more than a quarter of the people in the theatre, adjusted in their seats.

Yet, the next scene completely caught them off guard.

–

“Lance! Get out of my damn kitchen!”

“I swear to high heavens you old witch, if I have to wait one more table, I’m going to drop dead of boredom!”

“Oh yeah? Then, you better start practicing you little shit. It doesn’t get any easier!”

–

Andrew blinked his eyes a few times in disbelief, same for Sarah who was seated beside him.

‘That was unexpected…’ he inwardly stated as he and the lady, kept watching the interactions between the two in interest.

“She can’t be his mother, right?” Sarah muttered quietly as Lance begrudgingly exited the kitchen.

Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, Sarah could almost see a bit of her mother in Hilda.

That said, the lady watched on as Lance eventually headed over to The Deviant’s table, everyone in the cinema, watching on in interest as he approached them.

–

“Welcome, to our shitty restaurant, where the only thing great about it, is that lovely little jukebox in the corner.”

“The name’s Lance. How may I be of service?”

–

A few people in the theater were unable to suppress their laughter at Lance’s intro, while others chuckled in amusement, Sarah and Andrew included.

Owen, Gwen and Stuart similarly chuckled, unable to even recognize any hint of Kyle in Lance’s character, especially since they had been some of the closest people to him in more recent memory.

From his subtle mannerisms, to the way he walked, to even his manner of speech, nothing hinted at the person that they knew.

It was the mark of a great actor, really.

But even they, couldn’t help burst into laughter at the next few interactions alongside everyone else in the theatre.

–

“Trying to give us the hard sell, huh?”

“Apologies darling, I didn’t see you there. Would you care for an appetizer to start? On the house.”

“We also have some of the finest premium beef in stock and some of the best, exotic wines. You know, something tantalizing, for someone tantalizing.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? Everything screwed on properly?”

“I fell in love at first sight.”

–

‘Yep. That goofy energy or flirty nature is something I can’t ever imagine Kyle doing…’ Owen thought to himself as the laughter in the cinema died down a few seconds later.

And then, the next few events played out as the audience, became just as curious as everyone else when T-pain from The Syndicates, accepted Lance’s offer to a best of one dance off.

‘Hmmm…’ Gwen mused to herself, after which she then silently said to Stuart and Owen.

“I actually like how they’re both not suddenly breaking into dance routines in the middle of the restaurant like most dance movies would’ve already done…”

To that, Owen and Stuart, nodded in agreement.

That was one thing everyone agreed was quite unrealistic in dance movies no matter how cool the scene looked.

However, the way they had set it up in [Level Up 2], actually made sense.

It was almost as if the movie knew exactly how unrealistic scenes like that felt and was more or less, making an effort to make it seem more grounded with Lance’s next few words.

–

“Also, there’s no cause for alarm folks. Please, enjoy your meals while we entertain you.”

“Alright. Best of one it is.”

–

Still, as T-pain began to smoke Lance, the question became obvious from the gazes of a lot of individuals in the theatre.

Was Kyle Kestis, even a remotely good dancer?

Enough to not actually make it seem like T-pain lost just because of the plot progression?

And that question was immediately answered when they watched Lance, robotically give T-pain the middle finger in the most unexpected way possible!

“Ohh!!” a bunch of people in the cinema, silently exclaimed in sync with The Deviants and the people in the movies’ restaurant!

As for Owen, Gwen and Stuart, their eyes widened in a mix of genuine shock and surprise.

Sure they had expected Kyle to be at least good at dancing for him to have been casted for the role, but, they obviously hadn’t expected him to actually be able to do the robot to such a perfect degree.

‘Maybe that was the major reason why he even got casted for the role in the first place…’ Andrew whom was one of Kyle’s core fans, inwardly commented.

This same mix of reactions and thoughts were shared by everyone in the theatre who had been skeptic about Kyle’s dancing prowess as they watched Lance, absolutely demolish T-pain!

Following that, the next few scenes were shown with The Deviant’s, trying to cajole Lance into joining their dance group to which he declined by explaining he had his personal reasons.

This personal reason, was one that the audience got curious about but, they could only watch as Rose and the rest of The Deviants, gave Lance the Final Jam poster with the address to their dance hall if he ever changed his mind.

Then the movie continued on, showing as The Deviants, ingeniously tweaked their previous dance routines for the semi-finals, their win, slim and narrow against The Titans.

Even the audience agreed that it was a very slim win.

And even in their minds, The Deviants deserved to win based off of how they restructured the dance routine alone and not because they were the protagonists of the story.

A few scenes later, Lance was brought back into the limelight, the audience hoping the reasoning behind his rejection of The Deviants’ offer would be touched on.

And a few interactions later, they got their answers.

–

“Because you’re a great dancer, Lance! Not a chef!”

“You’re a great dancer.”

“You shouldn’t be withering here, in a place, that doesn’t need you. Not when you have so much promise. I’ll be fine, okay. So you don’t need to worry about me.”

“So go, Lance. Live your dreams. Make him proud. Make me proud. Your own way, okay?”

–

‘Ah… I see…’ Sarah nodded her head in understanding, somewhat reminded of her mum who was always pestering her to find a good man and get married.

It wasn’t that Hilda disliked Lance.

Rather, it was because of her love for him that she wanted him to pursue his dreams without the burden of believing he needed to take over her restaurant in place of her or his brother whom had died.

–

“I’ll be back to wait tables, you old witch.”

“Ha! As long as you stay out of my kitchen you little shit.”

–

Watching that scene, Sarah smiled a bit as Lance exited the restaurant and Hilda, walked up the staircase to her, picked up a small picture frame on her bed stand and then sat on the bed while smiling warmly as she gazed at it with a mix of sad yet loving gaze.

In the picture frame, was a picture of her, a young Lance and her other son who bore a striking resemblance to Hilda herself.

And on the back of the frame, just as the camera panned for a slow transition, was a small written note;

I don’t think chemotherapy’s gonna help but, I did manage to get a birthday gift for you in advance, in case I don’t make it. Love, Daniel.

That was then it then clicked for the audience really why Lance was so adamant on sticking around at the restaurant.

Daniel wasn’t just his brother… Daniel was his foster mum’s biological son whom had died of cancer.

As a result, Lance had felt it even more imperative upon himself to do his best to push his younger brother’s dreams forward and in the process, also make Hilda less burdened at the thought of not having an actual heir to the restaurant.

‘Wow… that’s… that’s quite a lot of depth to his character…’Andrew inwardly commented, a light of realization in his eyes, same as Sarah whom he was seated next to.

All that aside though, the movie kept going on, with Lance finally joining The Deviants and a bunch of dance practice and preparation for the final dance montages shown.

Even in these dance montages, Lance had been dancing as a robot while practicing so the audience, simply believed that was his forte, not really expecting him to have flexible dance skills…

Almost like a one trick pony.

But still, Owen, Stuart and Gwen were satisfied by that.

The fact that Kyle could even do the robot perfectly, was a cool thing in and of itself and would be a source of interesting talking points during talk shows and interviews.

That was why, by the time The Deviants and The Syndicates finally came face to face at the finals, the audience were looking forward to Luke and Rose the most to steal the spotlights.

Having watched as The Syndicates, absolutely owned the dance floor, the audience really began to wonder if The Deviants, had what it took to really make them feel like they won without plot armor.

Still, Andrew, just like a few others, Owen and Stuart included, couldn’t help but tilt their heads curiously when Xander, bumped into Lance and not Luke as he’d expected.

But then again, remembering that Lance did mop the floor with T-pain previously, they simply brushed the thought away, although they did find it a bit humorous that Xander was the one rubbing his shoulder after purposely bumping into Kyle.

And then, as the droning music played, with Luke snapping his fingers and breaking out of his cryo-stasis as the spotlight dawned on he and his teammates, everyone in the theatre watched in interest as they walked towards Lance who was frozen in time like the robot he was supposed to be on the slightly elevated platform.

Yet, no one was prepared for the moment the bass dropped and Lance, jumped onto center stage to lead the first charge in the rebellious zombie dance.

‘Wait, what?!’ Owen slightly leaned forward, baffled!

His eyes in fact, seemed to almost want to pop out of its socket in disbelief, same as many others in the theatres as Lance, effortlessly exchanged positions mid-dance with Luke and Rose who led the charge!

Lance had literally, shattered, all their illusions, presumptions, thoughts and beliefs without care or reason like a bolt from the blue!

Yet, as if that had just been the start, Sarah whom was getting excited by the minute, watched as Lance walked forward and spoke as his male Deviants responded;

–

“Who let the girls out?!”

“Woo! Woo! Woo!”

–

Immediately the girls were shown with their flaming devil sticks as they sassed while executing their side-to-side booty pops and sexy, arched back body rolls!

To that, a bunch of guys in the theatre audibly whistled, almost in sync with the audience in the scene itself!

But, just like other females in the audience, Sarah and Gwen had their jaws slightly drop when the ladies on screen, executed a perfect split after being raised a few meters above the ground, literal seconds just off of catching their flaming devil sticks!

Not even giving them time to recover from that crazy move, the audience watched again as Lance executed a perfect moonwalk that looked so divine while joining up with Luke who whispered.

–

“Electro.”

–

As if the zombie choreography had been the tip of the iceberg, the audience felt adrenaline coursing through their veins as The Deviants energetic and stylish dance moves, left nothing to be desired.

Lance especially, kept drawing their gazes with just how hard he was going, completely in his element.

The next few dance routines followed, with Lance, robotically strobing to take his place on the slightly elevated platform which water gushed from briefly as he spoke.

–

“It’s the new style!”

–

No sooner had that happened, some of the ladies in the theatres, let out a mild gasp of shock as Lance, jumped, powerfully dropped on his knees and sprung back up like a rubber ball without concern for his bones!

“Woah! Woah! Woah!” Stuart couldn’t help but mutter out loud in genuine shock, The Deviant’s not even giving anyone in the audience, both in the movie and in theatres anytime to catch their breaths as they kept dancing on!

And once again, everyone’s gazes were drawn to Lance whose movements, was inhumanly precise, his musicality and techniques perfected to an unbelievable degree as he stood atop the small platform.

Still, it didn’t mean the rest of The Deviant’s looked lackluster.

Rather, Lance’s perfect dance moves, further elevated their entire dance routine in the gazes of the audience.

And then the crazy moment came as Lance began to spin!

Sarah’s breath was stuck in her throat.

Andrew’s excited heart beat faster.

Gwen’s lips parted opened agape.

Stuart felt a wicked chill run up his spine.

And Owen…

Owen was dazed beyond disbelief as he raised a palm to cover his mouth when Lance, explosively collapsed to his knees!

And just like that, everyone else in the theatres, adrenaline pumping through their veins, were glued to their chairs in disbelief, their attention, immovable from the sight of a wet, heavily breathing Lance and the rest of The Deviants.

Even the cheers of the crowd from the movie was getting deafening by the second.

That alone, was enough to signify that the Deviants had won.

And just like that, the next few scenes played after.

The Deviants won the prize money, obviously.

Baby, B-box and Bones, finally got their hot ticket to stardom after a popular movie producer, called them up to appear as important side characters in a dance series and TV show.

Veronica’s parents, having seen her winning the dance competition, willingly compromised and finally allowed the lady to expand her wings and not just study ballet.

Lance, returned back to the restaurant to wait tables.

Luke and Rose, on the other hand, finally got back their father’s dance hall and also enough fame and recognition to earn the title of dance instructors.

The dance hall they had bought back however, much to the audience’s surprise, was the very same dance hall they had practicing in from the beginning of the movie.

The only difference – they wouldn’t need to be renting it anymore to use it.

Credits roll.

… or did it?